You Should Have Asked Me First
by CountessCora
Summary: Slightly AU version of Robert's discovery of Marigold and the surprising reason why he is initially resistant to the idea. Written from a tumblr prompt from everyshipunsinkable, "Yiu should have asked me first." I hope you enjoy it! xx


**You Should Have Asked**

_AN: the characters do not belong to me. This is an AU in which Robert knows that Marigold is Edith's child when Cora proposes that she live at the Abbey. Thank you, everyshipunsinkable, for the prompt of "you should have asked first." I hope you like it! Thank you, granthamfan, for being the wonderful beta that you are! xx_

"You should have asked first." Robert was being stiff and unyielding as he always was when met with change. The idea of Marigold living at the Abbey under the pretense of being the family's ward was a far bigger change than he usually bargained for. Typically he was fighting against something like the wireless or a new method of running the estate. But this was much closer to his heart; therefore he defended it staunchly.

"Why? What difference would it have made?" Cora looked at him as if she'd heard the same old balking about things a million times over during the course of their marriage.

"I don't know, Cora. We could have made a decision together." Robert wasn't about to back down.

"It's not even my decision. It's Edith's."

"I wish Edith had made more correct decisions when she was giving herself to Michael Gregson before falling pregnant with his child!" He raised his voice slightly but backed down again, feeling defeated.

"Robert!" Cora said sharply. "You're not suggesting that you wish little Marigold had not been conceived are you?"

"No; just under different circumstances," Robert said. "Ideally marriage; because then the child would be legitimate and have a home with a loving mother and father, and we would not be facing these circumstances. As much as I liked Gregson, he'd be alive if he hadn't gotten it into his head to go to Germany for a divorce. If Edith could have fallen for someone available..."

"I know," Cora added. "I loved Michael and Edith together, but it wasn't very convenient that he couldn't get out of his marriage. Poor Edith. It is her business, though."

He didn't want to admit it, but Cora was right. "But what do we do now?"

"Do?" She echoed. "There's nothing to do. Edith is a grown woman and whether or not she tells us is up to her. Your mother, on the other hand..." Cora stiffened as the memory of Violet and Rosamund coming into her room and announcing that they knew all about Marigold. The nerve of them! They hadn't wanted Robert to be in on the secret, but Cora disregarded their wishes because she felt that he needed to know as Edith's father and Marigold's grandfather. At least she hoped that he would come to see himself in that position with time.

"Well, I don't like the deception." Robert settled himself against the pillows and sighed.

"It's her decision, and I think Downton is the best place for her to raise her child."

"But, even Marigold won't know that Edith is her mother."

"She'll know. I don't blame you for not understanding the bond between mother and child, Robert, but I do wish you'd trust me." Cora turned reluctantly toward Robert. "Now go to sleep. We can discuss it more in the morning."

The topic was still going to be one of dissension no matter when it may be discussed Cora decided as she woke earlier than ever, unable to sleep soundly because of the discussion with Robert on her mind. She thought that things looked better in the morning, and she was typically right because the tiredness after a full day did often impede good judgment; whereas the freshness of morning restored it and put things into perspective.

"I think you're right, Cora," Robert said once he got over the shock of seeing her down in the dining room for breakfast. He made sure that the other family members and servants were gone before speaking of the alarming matter. "The child needs a place to live and there's nowhere better than with her family. But how can we keep this from becoming a topic of conversation throughout the county? It would create a scandal that would make the Kemal Pamuk situation look minor."

"That's why I've concocted the cover story," Cora told her husband. "These things happen more often than you know-families taking in orphans or disadvantaged children as their wards. Just trust me." She stiffened. "Or is that too hard for you?"

Neither one said anything, but it was obvious that she was thinking of the entire Simon Bricker situation.

"No," Robert said. "I do trust you, Cora."

Cora was very surprised to see tears filling Robert's eyes. "What is wrong?"

"What if I can't love her like I do Sybbie and George? What if she feels that she's a disappointment as she grows older because of the folly of her mother? I don't want to create that kind of discrepancy."

"Oh, Robert." Cora pulled him close and laid her head in his shoulder. "I don't think you need to worry about that. You'll find special things about Marigold that are uniquely her own, things that will endear her to you. Even though you act all blustery sometimes, I know you have a heart big enough for any children or grandchildren with whom we would have been blessed."

"I learned it from you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Me?" Cora sounded rather astonished.

"Yes. When you first came to Downton, you were open and loving and trusting despite adverse circumstances. The longer I watched you and the more deeply I fell in love with you, the more I became that way myself," he said, putting an arm around her. "I doubt I was even conscious of it at first, but it slowly became a part of me because I love you."

"Robert," Cora's own eyes were a little teary by now, "that is one of the most beautiful sentiments anyone has ever expressed to me."

"Then let's go tell Edith that her daughter, our granddaughter, is welcome as long as she wishes to stay here."

**The End**


End file.
